A Brief History of
Linden-Linthicum UMC

“How did this church end up with such a tongue-twister of a name?” 

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If you are asking that question, you're not alone! The name “Linden-Linthicum United Methodist Church” points to our rich history as part of the Methodist movement in our area of Maryland. Early Methodist congregations called themselves "Societies" and would initially meet in homes until a suitable location for a dedicated place to meet and worship could be located. From what little historical records remain, we know that Methodist societies existed in this area from the first years after the American Revolution, and were staffed by clergy from the "Old Montgomery Circuit," which was established in 1785.

 

Linden Church

Around 1800, one existing society of Methodists built The Old Friendship Meeting House about two miles southwest of Clarksville. After a schism within the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1828 over the role of Bishops in church governance, a new denomination, The Methodist Protestant Church, was formed with The Old Friendship Meeting House being served by ministers from this new denomination. This site continued to be in use through the end of the Civil War until a new structure, Linden Union Church, was built in Dayton, MD in 1870. 

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In the years preceding the Civil War, remaining congregations in the Methodist Episcopal Church who had not become Methodist Protestants split into Northern and Southern factions, with Maryland as a battleground between the two. Linden Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was organized in July 1866 and shared the Linden Church building with the Methodist Protestant congregation, each served by their own minister. After the re-union of The Methodist Episcopal Church, The Methodist Episcopal Church South, and The Methodist Protestant Church in 1939, Linden Union Church was reorganized as a single congregation. 

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Linthicum Chapel

Linthicum Chapel was named after the Rev. Hezekiah Linthicum who oversaw the construction of a church building for Methodist Protestants in Clarksville in 1850. However, the society which met in this new chapel is first definitively mentioned in the historical record when they began to meet in the Owings School House in Clarksville upon its construction in 1829, and could possibly have its origins in an existing society which purchased land for a meeting house in 1806 under the guidance of Rev. Slingsby Linthicum (Hezekiah Linthicum's father). The first Linthicum Chapel building was destroyed by fire in 1898 and a new building was completed in 1900. A new church bell (which now resides in the bell-tower of our current building) was donated to Linthicum Chapel by Gov. Edwin Warfield.

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Linden-Linthicum Church

After much discussion on how best to serve the needs of current members and the growing community, on May 29, 1959, the trustees of Linden and Linthicum Churches agreed upon a merger. Property on which to build a new, larger church was eventually found in early 1960. The new Linden-Linthicum United Methodist Church building on its current site in Clarksville was completed and dedicated in the fall of 1964. To accommodate the continued growth of our church family into the 21st Century, a new 2-level education wing was completed attached to the original church building in November 2003. We welcome all who would like to join us on our discipleship journey to come and grow with us!